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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27697199">Shot Through the Heart and Other Inappropriate Songs to Listen to in Recovery</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayHogwarts/pseuds/GayHogwarts'>GayHogwarts</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The West Wing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: s02e01 In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part 1, Episode: s02e02 In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part 2, Injury Recovery</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:22:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>9,426</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27697199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayHogwarts/pseuds/GayHogwarts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Because we all need a little more Josh Lyman suffering in our lives</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Written on the stolen land of the Ngunnawal people, sovereignty was never ceded.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Okay great, thanks, yeah my assistant will give you a call tomorrow…” Josh trailed off as he heard fireworks going off nearby. He turned to the direction the sound was coming from. He dropped the phone as he saw the absolute chaos of the crowd ducking and trying to flee. He realised it wasn’t fireworks, someone was shooting at the crowd. Josh rushed forwards, down into the crowd to find the staff, the president, hoping they were safe. His legs faltered and he looked down, startled to see blood running down his front. He stumbled back away from the steps, confused and afraid. His legs collapsed beneath him, and he found himself sitting on the ground, leaning against a wall. His hands found the source of the bleeding and he grasped at the edges of the wound, afraid to touch the point the pain was emitting from, afraid of what he might find if he did. A burning heat was spreading through his body. He tasted bile in his mouth as the burning heat coursed through him. Josh sat and thought of his mother, thought of her receiving the call that another tragedy had taken her last family member. Guilt for the pain and suffering she would suffer upon hearing of his death was consuming his mind just as the heat was coursing through him. If he could just get help he could survive and she would not have to hear about another of her children dying. Josh resolved to try get to the bottom of the stairs, that is where the paramedics would be. He tried to move but his body was refusing to cooperate. There was a rushing sound in his ears, the crowd and the gunshots drowned out by it. His vision was blurring, static crowding into his field of vision. He desperately wanted to close his eyes, to be unconscious, to not feel. He just had to hang on, hang on, someone would find him, hang on. As his desperate inner monologue was getting harder to believe he heard Toby’s voice. He tried to shout out, but no sound came. Josh locked eyes with Toby, shouting help and thank you with his eyes. He could finally succumb to the blackness now help was here, he slipped into unconsciousness as he heard CJ’s shout of panic.</p><p>Josh was ungraciously shaken from the black as he was rattled into an ambulance. The sounds of sirens and flashing lights were disorienting. He was being poked and jostled as the paramedics located the source of his injury but he wished they would just let him be still. He felt like he was being torn apart, the sounds, the sights, the pain, it was too much, everything was too much. He wanted to bury his head under the blanket and block his ears.  Every breathe felt like he was sucking razor blades into his lungs and the burning was still coursing through his bones. The paramedics shoved an oxygen mask on his face, but it did not make breathing any less painful. </p><p>He was in the Oval talking to the president. But it wasn’t Bartlet behind the Resolute, it was Hoynes. Josh’s brain was screaming at him, he shouldn’t be here, Hoynes shouldn’t be president, he should be with Bartlet. A voice was telling him loudly that he was going to go in for surgery, that his lung was collapsed. Josh tried to tell him it couldn’t be, and he couldn’t go into surgery, he had to get to New Hampshire, he had to get to Bartlet before it was too late. </p><p>Josh was drifting, painlessly through mist…<br/>
Beep<br/>
No sounds piercing his eardrums…<br/>
Beep<br/>
No flashing lights blinding him…<br/>
Beep<br/>
No pain…<br/>
Beep<br/>
He could see through the mist a golden light; it was warm and bright, and he felt he should go towards it. He carefully began floating towards to light…<br/>
Beep<br/>
As he drew nearer it shifted and became blue, still warm and still the only colourful thing in his field of vision. He was within an arms’ reach now, he tried to grasp it but he could not lift his arms. He tried something else instead, and opened his eyes.<br/>
Beep… Beep… Beep </p><p>His eyes felt covered in grit and sleep, and barely stayed open. He still couldn’t lift his arms to brush the sleep away, so contented to try blink them clean.<br/>
“Ah Mr Lyman, good to see you awake. You have just had a 14 hour surgery, and have been in the recovery room for one hour. Now you’re awake we will monitor your vitals and get you up to a room very soon. It’s okay if you feel a bit disoriented now, you can try go back to sleep if you’d like.” </p><p>Josh tried to remember why he had to have surgery, and wondered if this was real or another dream. He couldn’t sit up, and his eyes desperately wanted to stay closed so he gave up trying to figure out what was going on and drifted back to sleep. The next thing he heard was his name being called in a familiar voice. The voice was telling him he was okay, and that he should wake up, and something in him told him he should do what the voice was saying. He cracked his tired eyes and saw the President and Leo standing over him. He was safe, he knew what to do.<br/>
“What’s next”<br/>
Just this minimal sentence was enough to exhaust his brain, and he drifted again enjoying the hand on head, knowing someone was there to comfort and protect him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This one’s from Donna’s perspective. Why? Because I wanted to!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Donna was where she had been for 12 hours. Sitting, cross legged on an uncomfortable hospital chair at the end of Josh’s bed staring at her boss’ pale face, listening to the steady beep of the medical equipment that was monitoring his vitals. She couldn’t believe he was alive, she couldn’t believe she ever doubted he would live. She ached to hear him pontificate on senate procedure or arrogantly argue with a congressman. There had been no change in Josh’s expression for hours, but she could not leave until something happened to confirm that he would be okay. Suddenly the lines on his face tightened and his eyes scrunched into a squint. Donna jumped up, hoping she was not imagining it. Josh slowly cracked his eyes open, blinking sleep away. Donna waited for him to show some sign he was still in there, desperate for something to say things were back to normal. He finally looked at her, and she stared deeply into his eyes, thankful for this moment. <br/>“Hi” he croaked <br/>“Hi” she replied, choked with tears. <br/>He shuffled on the bed, trying to find comfort amongst all the tubes and monitors. <br/>“Why are you crying?” he asked, his breathing sounding laboured just from the short sentence. Donna chuckled wetly, “because you were hurt, and I was scared” she wiped the tears off her cheeks “How do you feel?”<br/>“Not great to be honest. What the hell happened?” <br/>Donna grasped for words, no idea how to explain the enormity of the past few days. She suddenly understood how Toby must have felt having to tell her that Josh had been hurt. <br/>“There, there was a shooting… after the town hall… You… the President…” Donna’s stammering was interrupted by a nurse entering. Donna used the distraction to turn away from Josh and compose herself. <br/>“Good to see you awake Mr Lyman, just press this clicker if you have any pain.” The nurse moved to the screens and checked his vital signs, writing notes on her clipboard. “Hmm, oxygen is a bit lower than we want, do you feel any breathlessness or tightness in the chest?” Josh nodded. “Ok, we’ll keep an eye on that, we may have to upgrade to the mask.” She checked his wound and the chest tube and satisfied that he would not keel over, left the room, promising to return in half an hour. </p><p>Josh looked to Donna with questions in his eyes. Donna begun again, “There was a shooting as the President left the town hall. You were shot in the chest, the bullet shredded a major artery and collapsed your lung, and you had a major surgery to reinflate it and remove the bullet. The President was shot too” Josh spluttered with alarm “BUT HE IS FINE, seriously Josh he’s okay, he came to see you yesterday.” <br/>Josh leaned back onto the pillows and closed his eyes. “Everyone else? CJ, Sam, Toby, they all okay?” Donna nodded, then realised he couldn’t see the action, “Yes, CJ hit her head but is okay, they’re all back at work.” He sighed in relief, “was anyone killed, anyone in the crowd?” “As far as I know your injuries were the worst, no fatalities” <br/>Josh nodded, his eyes remained closed. Donna wondered if he was about to drop off to sleep again. <br/>“We should have done more on gun control” He said, voice barely above a whisper. <br/>“Josh you cannot blame yourself for this, this was not your fault it was the fault of the shooters. Who the hell shoots at a crowd to get at the President!” <br/>“It took too much political capital, we could have leaned on congress more” <br/>“Josh! You did as much as you could, we got more than –<br/>Josh interrupted her “the amount of people who die in this country from guns! The amount of sexual assaults at gun point! People’s lives are taken and ruined every day, it doesn’t happen in other countries! You shouldn’t be able to shoot the President!” His voice raised in volume and sounded hysterical. His heart and blood pressure monitors began to spike. <br/>“Josh you have to calm down. This is a lot for you to comprehend right now, please don’t add extra pressure to yourself. You have to relax and recover and then you can take on the NRA and the Republicans at full strength” <br/>Josh lay back, exertion from his outburst clear on his red and sweating face, his breathing ragged and laboured. Donna wetted some paper towel and sponged his forehead. <br/>“I could have done more.” Josh closed his eyes, tears flowing down his cheeks. Donna stroked his hair and wiped the tears away until his breathing slowed into sleep. Donna pulled her chair up to his head and sat, holding his hand. She bowed her head and cried. </p><p> </p><p>“Donna?” <br/>Donna sat up and turned to the voice. She quickly stood, “Sorry ma’am I didn’t see you there”<br/>Abby entered the room, taking in Josh’s sleeping form, and his hand in Donna’s. She quirked an eyebrow but said nothing. “How is he?” <br/>“He… um… he’s okay, he was awake a little while ago. They might need to use the oxygen mask though, he’s still low.” <br/>Abby nodded, “that’s not unusual for a patient like Josh. How are you? Have you been at home at all since the shooting?” <br/>Donna shook her head. Abby sighed. <br/>“Donna, this is not going to be a sprint. Josh is going to be here for a while, then he’s going to be home recovering. He is going to take time to get his strength back, and he can’t do that if you collapse now. You have to conserve your strength to help him get his back.”<br/>Donna appreciated that she didn’t have to explain or justify that she would be by Josh’s side the whole time through recovery, whatever it took. She also realised it wasn’t the worst idea in the world to go home and shower and maybe eat something. She was still in the clothes she’d been wearing when she had heard and rushed to the hospital. Her top stank of the sweat of hours of panic. <br/>“Donna, look at me” Donna looked up, “You have all been through a trauma, you’re all going to need some time to recover. It’s okay to leave, it’s okay to take some time to cry in the shower and have some sleep. In fact as a physician I’m going to recommend that you do. You need to look after yourself for you, too”<br/>Abby embraced Donna. “I just came to say that the President is being discharged.” Donna smiled, and whispered thank god. Abby nodded, “He’s fine, he’s bantering with the doctors and boring the nurses. He wants to come back and see Josh before he leaves, I wanted to give you some warning” She brushed the salt off Donna’s cheeks with a knowing look. <br/>“Thank you Mrs Bartlet. I’ll go wash my face” <br/>“Good girl. Then are you going to go home?” <br/>Donna nodded, and walked into the bathroom. Abby took her place in the chair by Josh’s bed, took his hand, and offered a prayer to archangel Raphael for healing. </p><p> </p><p>The agents entered first, Donna came to her feet and stood to the side of the bed. The President then entered, holding hands with the First Lady. Charlie trailed behind, then joined Donna by the window. They both turned away to give the President some privacy with Josh, and heard his whispered benediction. Charlie handed Donna a folder of newspaper clippings and a roll on deodorant. He winked. “The clippings are all about Josh and what a wonderful and smart political operative he is, I thought he might enjoy reading them. The deodorant is for you, you know if you want it.” <br/>Donna chuckled. “That’s some good staff work, thank you” <br/>“Of course, I’m a great guy” They smiled at each other “I bring well wishes and support from all the assistants, they all want you to know they’re thinking about you and praying for Josh.”<br/>“Thank them for me please Charlie, I really appreciate it. Is all of Josh’s work being farmed out?” <br/>“Margaret and Ginger have it under control. Bonnie is running interference and they’ve set an intern up at your desk to pick up the phone. There’s something like 114 messages so far, but they’re being sorted so don’t worry”<br/>“That’s great, I don’t know when I’ll be back there so it’s good it’s under control” <br/>“I talked to Sam just before I left the White House, he’s going to be here in a bit, if you want to leave” <br/>“Oh that’s fantastic, I didn’t want to leave him alone” <br/>“We’ve got you Donna, we all have you guys backs” They shared another smile and resumed staring out the dusty window. <br/>The President was ready to go. As he left, he turned to Donna. “Donatella. You look after him now okay?” <br/>“Yes sir, of course” <br/>He smiled, and the entourage left.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written on Nipaluna, Palawa country, posted from Ngunnawal country.</p><p>Happy day that Cook got cooked! Lets bring that energy into 2021 :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sam pressed the button for level 7 with a sigh. He was utterly exhausted but still filled with an anxious adrenaline and simmering concern for his friend. He winced at the reflection in mirror, the man looking back at him definitely looked older and more tired, dark bags and forehead creases that were not there days ago. His steps echoed too loud in the quiet hallway as he approached the nurse’s station.<br/>
“Josh Lyman?” he asked the nurse filing charts at the desk.<br/>
“Just down the end, don’t disturb him he really needs to rest. I don’t know why we’re letting so many out of hours visitors.” The nurse replied in a concerned tone.<br/>
“Thanks, I’ll be quiet, I just really need to see him” Sam’s voice cracked. The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile and returned to filing.<br/>
Sam stopped in the doorway to Josh’s room and took a deep breath.<br/>
Josh was lying, ghostly pale, stripped to the waist and covered in wires. There was a mask over his face yet Sam could still hear how laboured his breathing was. Sam was instantly transported back to seeing his friend, head in Toby’s lap spilling his life blood over the concrete. He’s still alive, he’s still alive Sam repeated in his head. He moved into the room and put a hand on Donna’s shoulder. She quickly wiped tears from her cheeks and gave him a weak smile.<br/>
“He took a dip before… they’ve given him something to help him sleep… and the mask is like, reminding him to breath.” Donna said haltingly, the confident and competent assistant Sam knew from the White House gone.<br/>
“Donna” He knelt in front of her. “He’s going to be okay, he’s being looked after. I’ll stay with him and call you if anything, anything, happens.”<br/>
“I’m just so scared that I’ll leave and he’ll… he’ll” she broke down in tears.<br/>
“I know, I know. I’m scared too.” Sam whispered, hugging her tight.<br/>
They broke apart, both crying. They looked down at Josh, watching his chest rise and fall, the bandages looking impossibly imposing. Sam dragged a chair to sit next to Donna, taking her hand once more and silently contemplating their friend’s prone body. The silence was punctured by machinery beeping, and Josh’s now steady breathing. Every hour a nurse came to check Josh’s vitals, but he never stirred. They were surprisingly tolerant of the two keeping vigil over their patient. Donna laid her head on Sam’s shoulder and Sam patted her head.<br/>
“I’m so afraid that he’ll die without ever knowing… without my telling him that…” Donna whispered<br/>
“It’s okay. You have time” Donna locked eyes with Sam, “Donna. Just remember… once something is said, it cannot be… unsaid…”  They lapsed into silence again, Sam unsure if he should have said anything, Donna worried she’d revealed too much.<br/>
Donna had dropped into sleep with her head on Sam’s shoulder when Josh suddenly clenched his fists. He moaned and began to rock sideways on the bed, his face and hands scrunched. Sam rushed to his side, calling his name, unclenching his hand and unfurrowing his brow. Josh cracked one of his eyes half open and issued a loud moan.<br/>
“What do you need Josh? Where does it hurt? I’ll get the nurse, she’ll help you” Sam pressed the call button frantically. The nurse quickly entered and rushed to Josh, shunting Sam to the side. Donna jerked awake and quickly stood asking what was happening.<br/>
“He’s fine, he just needs another dose to help with the pain and with sleeping, his heart rate is okay and his chest sounds acceptable considering his condition. This should keep him knocked out for a few more hours. Can I try persuade you guys to go home and get some sleep?”<br/>
Sam and Donna shook their heads, they needed to see Josh through this night. The nurse shook her head and left the room. Sam and Donna resumed their vigil, drifting to sleep and jerking awake urgently, taking turns holding Josh’s limp hand and dabbing his hot forehead with wet towels. Their silent considerations of their friend were private, but they were united in their watchfulness and desperate hope. </p><p>Dawn light was filtering through the blinds when Sam was awoken by a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Toby, holding a huge coffee and a manila folder tucked under his arm looking disgruntled.<br/>
“Sam have you been here all night? I sent you home to get some sleep”<br/>
“Yeah I know, I just came to check on him after work, and I couldn’t leave him. He’s in so much pain.”<br/>
“Well you’re going to be no good to him if you’re also not sleeping nights. For the love of G*d you’re no good to me, you’re no good to the president if you’re spending your nights here. Go home and shower and I’ll see you at work, the world kept turning while you were here and there’s stuff to do.”<br/>
“No. No! You can’t make me write remarks now! My friend is in pain I need to be here for him.”<br/>
“What benefit is he actually getting from you being here? It will actually help him if you go to the office and pick up some of his work, liaise with congress, see what we can get now on guns.”<br/>
“What if he wakes up and he doesn’t remember what happened and he’s alone, and scared, and in pain, and I’m not here...”<br/>
“Well I’ll stay for a bit and make sure he’s okay. It’s time for you to go, and that’s not a request.”<br/>
Sam stared at Toby, but his boss always had the stamina to stare a man down. Sam sighed “fine, fine, I’ll see you at the office in a bit.” He took Josh’s hand once more and whispered “I’ll be back later, just keep breathing, keep being okay. Please.” Sam gave Toby a dark look, stole his coffee out of his hand, and walked out.<br/>
Toby stood at the end of Josh’s bed and fidgeted. He wondered if he ought to pray, or whisper meaningful messages to his unconscious friend, or stroke his sweaty hair back. This was not in his skill set, comforting people, even unconscious people was not something he knew how to do. He was just psyching himself up to take Josh’s hand when Donna emerged from the bathroom and approached the bed stretching.<br/>
“Where you here all night again?” Toby asked quietly.<br/>
“Yeah, he woke up or was in pain a few times.”<br/>
“When was the last time you went home? Don’t you need clothes and toothpaste… non-hospital coffee?”<br/>
“I want to make sure I’m here when the doctor does the assessment today, then I’ll go home for a bit.”<br/>
Toby and Donna stood in silence either side of Josh, Toby shifting his weight from foot to foot, Donna perfectly still as if she hadn’t spent multiple nights sleeping on uncomfortable chairs. A nurse came in with beginning of shift energy and broke the silence by bustling about, opening the blinds and pouring a cup of water.<br/>
“Morning guys, just need to run some tests of Mr Lyman, won’t take long!” she said cheerily. Toby used the commotion to escape the room that was suffocatingly full of anxiety, promising himself he’d come back. Now he had to find something meaningful enough and consuming enough to distract him from how Josh’s veins stood out from his too pale skin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If anybody has good advice for writing better dialogue pls comment, I can imagine how it would sound but I don't know how to communicate it through writing :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Excuse me, sorry to disturb you” Donna was brought out of her reprieve by the polite tones of a young doctor. <br/>“Hi, are you Josh’s doctor today? I’ve got some questions.”<br/>“Yes ma’am, one of them. I’m Dr Clara Reid, I’m an intern. I just have to have a bit of a look before rounds, I can try answer your questions though.”<br/>“I… um sorry I haven’t slept and now I can’t think. When can that tube come out?” Donna asked, pointing at the chest tube that had been making periodic sucking noises all night. <br/>“That’s there to help reinflate Mr Lyman’s collapsed lung, but we’re coming up on 72 hours since it was put in so it should be able to come out today if his lung’s popped back up. If he can get his pulse ox up to 90% we can go back to the nasal prongs which can be more comfortable and means he’ll be able to communicate more easily which I’m sure will be a relief to you,” the doctor smiled at Donna. “The goal for today will be for him to be conscious and aware, to raise his oxygen levels and even out his heart rate, and to try get a good dose of painkillers to keep him comfortable.” <br/>“Thank you, I appreciate you explaining what’s going to happen, I feel like I’ve just been sitting here not sure if he’s okay and nobody’s been telling me anything.” <br/>“Of course, write down any questions you have and then you can ask them when one of the doctors comes in, the surgeon might come around today as well to check the site.” The doctor finished recording Josh’s notes, closed the chart and smiled at Donna. “Right I think that’s everything from me, I’ll be back for rounds at 7, then check in again after that, I’ll talk to you later Mrs Lyman.” <br/>Donna startled, “Sorry it’s Moss, Donna Moss. I’m not… we’re not… I’m his assistant.” <br/>“Oh, sorry! I shouldn’t have assumed, they definitely said something about that in patient communication classes in med school. Sorry, I’ll see you later Miss Moss.”<br/>Donna smiled as the young doctor left, amused by how flustered she had been, then became anxious that the hospital would make her leave if they knew she wasn’t family. She resolved to stay in Josh’s room until forced to leave and thus avoid being questioned. <br/>A small movement of Josh’s head told her he was waking up. She moved into his eyeline “Good morning Josh.” <br/>Josh’s eyes flickered before focussing on her, he smiled under the mask and Donna’s heart soared. “How do you feel? Are you in pain? Can you breathe properly? Should I get your doctor back or grab a nurse?” Josh made an expression of exasperation at all the questions. “Okay blink once for yes and twice for no, are you in pain?” Josh blinked once slowly then twice more quickly, “Wait was that yes or no, this is not a good system” Josh grinned, even when addled with drugs and with a hole in his chest he could get under her skin like nobody else. He made to take the mask off but Donna grabbed his hand “NO absolutely not, the doctor said if your oxygen can get to above 90% he’ll take off the mask, until that moment you’re not allowed to touch it. Here, you can write on this if you want to say something” she passed him her notepad that she had taken notes on what Dr Reid had said. Josh’s hand held the pen loosely and at an odd angle, he scrawled in unsteady handwriting ‘who made you the boss?’ “excuse you everybody knows I’m in charge, you’d be totally lost without me” Donna said with a smile. The intensity of Josh’s look in response made her duck her head and search for a safer topic. “Charlie brought clippings that speak about you in adoring tones, do you want to hear about how great you are? Who am I kidding of course you do” Donna reached under her chair for the papers. She scanned the article, consciously avoiding the lines describing the severity of Josh’s injuries and descriptions of the shooting and instead focussing on the bits that reflected on his career highlights. She read them out in dramatic tones, amusing them both and sweetening the atmosphere in the room. The nice moment could not last, as a group of ten young doctors lead by an imposing older man in a pristine suit entered the room. <br/>Donna pulled her chair slightly away from the bed and stood, Josh’s eyes darted around, confused and afraid. Dr Reid approached the bed and began to present Josh’s case. When she described the surgery he had undergone Donna noticed Josh closed his eyes and the tension returned to his body. The older doctor quizzed the eager students, and the room was filled with sound as the young doctors discussed Josh’s treatment and prognosis without even looking at him. Donna felt offended that they did not seem to care about Josh as a person in pain, but saw him as a puzzle to be solved. She took his hand and tried to block out the sounds of the room. As the doctors left, Dr Reid looked over at Donna and Josh, gave an apologetic smile and waved. <br/>Josh wrote ‘well that was a bit shit’ Donna wholeheartedly agreed. The effort of the morning had clearly exhausted Josh, and so Donna encouraged him to sleep, lightly holding his hand and promising to be there when he awoke. <br/>The day passed with visits from the surgeons and doctors who declared Josh’s lung reinflated and removed the chest tube. He was able to remove the mask at midday, and Donna thought he looked significantly better and more alive without the tube and mask, although he still looked pale and he dropped to sleep with little warning throughout the day. In between visits and procedures Josh and Donna were able to talk. Josh wanted to know about what was going on in the West Wing but Donna could not provide the information he craved, so instead they reminisced about the campaign. Donna chuckled as Josh told a story about CJ getting chased by a frisky goat in Pennsylvania, filled with absolute relief that he was healing, that he was able to talk and laugh, albeit in a raspy voice. <br/>Dr Reid knocked at the doorframe, “Mr Lyman, Miss Moss, hi, you’re looking much better Mr Lyman, how are you feeling?” <br/>Josh looked to Donna, then back to the doctor “yeah I’m doing better. This clicker thing is great.” <br/>Dr Reid smiled and took out her stethoscope. While checking Josh over she hesitated, then looking at Donna said “look I’m sorry about this morning, I should have prepared you for that, rounds can be pretty intense. But they’re really important for us to make sure we’re not going to kill any patients.”<br/>Donna winced but Josh nodded, seemingly unfazed. A nurse entered and said she was there to change Josh’s catheter. Donna quietly told Josh she was going to make a call. He looked slightly pained. “I’m just going into the hall, I’m going to go see if Sam or Toby are coming down this evening.” Josh nodded and fell back against his pillow. </p><p>Donna found a pay phone and was patched through to Ginger. <br/>“Hey girl! How’s Josh doing?” Ginger exclaimed. <br/>“Hi Ginger, he’s doing a lot better, he’s conscious and he’s been talking, he’s even got enough energy to be bored. How’s everyone there?”<br/>“I tell you what Donna it’s pretty bad. Sam is locking himself in his office alone and Toby is tearing around scaring the interns, he had a real go at Bonnie today. Everyone’s trying to act like they’re fine but they are clearly struggling.”<br/>“Yeah that makes sense. Is Bonnie okay?” <br/>“Of course, she brushed it off after bitching about it in the loo. We miss you Donna we really do! Eagle’s had a relationship issue and you weren’t there to talk him down!”<br/>“I’m sure you guys handled it but tell him he can send me an email and I’ll have a look tonight. Hey listen do you know if Toby or Sam are coming down here later, Josh is bored and wants to talk politics.” <br/>“Hang on. Hey Toby, it’s Donna, you going to the hospital tonight?... Toby says he’ll be up around six.”<br/>“Thanks Ginger, I’ll let Josh know.”<br/>“Tell him we’re all thinking about him and wishing him well. It was good to hear your voice.”<br/>“You too Ginger, thanks, I’ll talk to you soon” Donna hung up with a smile, it felt so good and normal to gossip with Ginger, she hadn’t realised how much she valued the time spent with the assistants until she missed it. Donna walked back to Josh’s room feeling reenergised but her smile fell as she opened the door to the sight of Josh vomiting into a bucket whilst Dr Reid rubbed his back. <br/>Donna ran to Josh’s side, asking what happened.<br/>“I’m not really sure, I was discussing wound care when he said he felt queasy and then he just went. Speaking of which I’ll have to check your stitches to make sure they didn’t pop when you sat up.” The mention of stitches caused Josh to heave once more. <br/>“Oh, that would be his delicate system, he has a sensitive stomach, and he gets queasy around blood and things” Josh sent Donna a dirty look over the bucket. She quirked an eyebrow and smiled in response. <br/>Donna helped Josh lie back against the pillows and went to the bathroom to grab paper towel and water to clean him up. Donna wiped his face and held up a cup of water for him to drink from. As Dr Reid came to Josh’s side to check the wound Donna held Josh’s hand and turned his face towards hers, “just breathe through it Josh it’ll be okay. Toby’s going to come up after he’s finished at work, he’ll be able to update you on all the important stuff. Do you think you’ll be able to go to sleep again for a few hours so you have energy to talk politics when Toby turns up?” <br/>“The stitches look fine, I’ll grab an orderly to give you a sponge bath to make sure you’re comfortable, then definitely try get some more rest. I’ll see you guys a bit later okay.” Dr Reid hustled out of the room. <br/>“Josh? You okay?” <br/>“My mouth feels disgusting… and my chest hurts. I feel like I can still feel the bile in my throat.”<br/>“I’ll get you some more water, lay back down there.” <br/>When Donna returned with the water an orderly had shown up with sponges and warm water. Donna ducked back into the bathroom to give Josh some privacy and fully studied her own appearance for the first time in days. She had deep bags under eyes, and her skin was flakey and pale. Her hair was an oily mess and her scalp felt gritty, prompting the age old question of keeping it in the days old ponytail or risking taking it out and having it form an impenetrable knot. She wetted her fingers and tried to run them through her hair but her hair fought back. Giving up tidying up as a lost cause, Donna peaked back into Josh’s room to find him alone. She returned to her customary seat. <br/>“Are you going to sleep?”<br/>“No I’m bored. Talk to me.”<br/>“Well I spoke to Ginger today. She said that Eagle’s having boyfriend troubles.”<br/>“Whose Eagle? Isn’t that the President’s code name?”<br/>“Yeah but we call Dan Eagle that. You know he’s secret service, tall, dark and sexy?” <br/>Josh shot her a dark look, “I haven’t noticed any tall, dark, sexy secret service around.”<br/>“Oh you definitely have noticed him, there’s no way you haven’t seen him. Don’t worry he’s gay so the girls still think you’re the hottest.” Donna smiled at how that put the egotistical man at ease.   <br/>“I read a profile the other day, a scientist in the UK he’s paralysed because of ALS and he’s theorising that time did not exist prior to the Big Bang, and therefore the origins of the universe is a meaningless construct.” Donna tried to remember the article she’d read prior to the shooting and everything that had happened after knowing that this was the sort of thing that Josh would grab onto.<br/>“So the Big Bang that was the beginning of it all was also the beginning of time… that’ll have some religious implications surely. Christians being notoriously excited about science.”<br/>“I think he said something about that in the article, something about knowing science means we know the mind of God. He also was talking about black holes and what happens when they disappear.” <br/>Josh’s face lit up with an excitement that Donna was familiar with and had so missed. She could tell he had grasped onto this topic with a fanaticism that would only end when he knew everything about astrophysics or when a new passion emerged. Donna’s support of him showing interest in anything ran out after the second hour of black hole speculation, and so it was with some satisfaction that Toby appeared, coffee in hand. <br/>“Josh! You look better.” Toby said with more emotion than Donna was used to hearing from the man. <br/>“Hey Toby. Do you know anything about astrophysics?”<br/>“I know a bit, you know my brother…” <br/>“Yeah, I forgot, have you seen him since?”<br/>“We’re going to meet tomorrow, we both had traumatic experiences in the same 24 hours so it’s probably time to talk.”<br/>“That’s good, say hi for me will you. Also ask him about the limited universe theory.”<br/>“Okay.”<br/>“Okay.” Toby fidgeted with the label on his coffee cup. “So what’s going on at the White House?”<br/>Toby looked up, much more comfortable discussing politics than his relationship with his brother. “The President’s back in the office but we’re not kicking off the midterm campaigning yet, he’s supposed to be resting more but he’s charging around like a crazy person. We were supposed to be working on education this week after the town hall but that’s been derailed.” Josh became extremely interested in the ceiling when Toby referenced the shooting. “We have some Florida candidates that the DNC is excited about but they don’t stand a chance.” <br/>“If we make the campaign about healthcare and ignore all the shit from the Republicans I think we have a chance amongst old white voters and poor Latino voters, if the campaign is disciplined and doesn’t get stuck in the mud on labour rights or culture war nonsense.” <br/>“Ignore labour rights? Are you stupid or crazy…”Donna sensed an argument brewing and slipped out of the room to get coffee. <br/>When she walked back down the corridor with her hot drink she was shocked to see doctors and nurses streaming into Josh’s room, and Toby standing outside with his hands on his head.<br/>“Toby! What the hell happened?”<br/>“I… uh… I don’t know we were talking and then he closed his eyes and was holding his head and he said he was really dizzy and nauseous. The machine was beeping like crazy so then people started streaming in and I got pushed out. I don’t know he was fine and then suddenly he wasn’t.” <br/>Donna felt her chest constrict, how many crises could he survive, how many times could she bear to see him in pain. Toby and Donna leaned against the wall and waited for signs of life. After a while Dr Reid came out of Josh’s room. Donna stood up straight and walked to her. <br/>“Hi Miss Moss, don’t worry Josh is going to be fine. He has had what’s called a hypertensive emergency, basically his blood pressure spiked at an unhealthy level which has put too much pressure on his arteries, which is a concern since he just had aortic repair surgery. We have stabilised him now, and over the next 24 hours we will gradually reduce his blood pressure with an antihypertensive agent and he should be fine after that.”<br/>“What caused it?”<br/>“It’s hard to say, his body has obviously been under a lot of stress these past few days, it could have been the trauma or the surgery or a reaction to the medication. We’ll be monitoring his blood pressure very closely after this to ensure it doesn’t happen again. You can go in and see him now if you want.”<br/>Donna quickly headed for his side, but paused at the doorway when Toby did not follow. “Are you not coming in?” <br/>“No…no I have a… I have to go somewhere, now.” He walked off with haste, not looking back.<br/>Donna approached Josh with some trepidation, his face looked quite red but otherwise seemed the same as before. <br/>“How are you?”<br/>Josh jut shrugged. <br/>“You shouldn’t scare me like that, its not fair.”<br/>Josh shook his head and Donna noticed there were tears in the corners of his eyes. <br/>“Oh Josh. It’s okay. You’re okay.” She held his hand in silence until he closed his eyes and his breathing evened out to sleep.</p><p>“Hey kid.” Donna looked up to find Leo leaning in the doorway. <br/>“Leo, hi.” She placed Josh’s hand back on the bed and stood up. Leo indicated with his head to come outside. <br/>“You haven’t been home since Monday have you?”<br/>“No sir, I can’t leave him.”<br/>“You can. My driver is out front, he is going to take you to your apartment. You’re going to have a shower, order some Chinese food and get some sleep horizontally.”<br/>“That’s very generous but I should be here, I need to stay with him.”<br/>“That was not a suggestion. You should consider this an order. If you don’t listen to me I will get the President on the phone, or if that doesn’t work the First Lady. You don’t want the First Lady in doctor mode yelling at you do you?”<br/>Donna looked down at the floor. She knew intellectually that she should go back to her apartment, and the thought of a bath made her weak at the knees. She was suddenly aware of how hungry she was as well, when was the last time she ate, it definitely had been a few days. She was deeply afraid that she would leave and Josh would have another emergency and she wouldn’t know what was going on, or he would wake up and she wouldn’t be there. <br/>“Donna look at me. You have to go, you have to take a break. Believe me I know a bit about this sort of thing. I’ll stay with Josh.” <br/>There was nothing Donna could say to that, so she ducked back into Josh’s room to grab her belongings, kissed his hot and sweaty forehead, promising to be back and rejoined Leo outside. “Donny will walk you to the car and my guy will make sure you get back okay, alright. Make sure you sleep.” One of the secret service guys who had discreetly leaned up against the corridor wall came over and gently took Donna’s shoulder. Donna mutely followed Donny to Leo’s car, told the driver her address and spent the thirty minute drive to her apartment trying to stay awake. Walking up the stairs she felt her legs might collapse at any moment. She finally opened her front door to a musty smell, and was instantly overcome with emotions to be back in her safe home. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, found a menu and ordered a feast, and gratefully sank into a luxuriously hot bath ready to scrub the hospital smell off her skin. She lay back and desperately tried to pull her thoughts away from Josh and focus on the feeling of being warm and clean.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Listen as you know I'm not a writer I'm just doing my best. And I don't know how to end scenes unless someone comes to interrupt hence the creation of a doctor character. </p><p>Also this is an ode to the assistants - I love every scene where the assistants get to hang out.</p><p>Also Eagle is the guy who says "Eagle's two minutes away" and that is his only line throughout the series despite being in the background of just an unbelievable amount of scenes. I have been obsessed with him for years and so I'm bumping him up to character status and also making him gay bc I like him</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Damn Donna cannot catch a break, I mean it sucks for Josh that he got shot, but the poor girl just needs some sleep!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Donna was awoken by her phone ringing. She rolled over, flopping her hand to try find the phone with her eyes closed. This failed, and so it was with considerable effort that she cracked her eyes open and grabbed the phone.<br/>
“Hello?” Her voice came out in a dry croak, her mouth felt sticky and gunky.<br/>
“Donna. Listen they just took Josh back into surgery…” Leo sounded haggard.<br/>
“What? What? Why? I’m coming back in.”<br/>
“No, listen, he’s going to be in theatre for at least three hours, so there’s no point you coming in until he’s out, someone will call you as soon as they’re done.”<br/>
“I don’t understand, what happened? He was… he was okay when I left…” Donna’s mind was racing, and the anxiety that had been quelled for a brief few hours while she bathed and slept roared back up.<br/>
“He had some pain, they did another scan and there was a… I don’t know… a bone fragment I think they said… floating around his heart, so they had to go back in.”<br/>
“I’m on my way, thanks for letting me know.”<br/>
“Donna it’s going to be fine, they know what they’re doing.”<br/>
“Yeah, thanks Leo, thank you for calling.” </p><p>Donna sat on the edge of her bed, her mind racing but her body still very much asleep.<br/>
“Get dressed, pack some things, drive to the hospital. No get a taxi you can’t afford hospital parking. Lets go.” Donna tried to talk her body and mind into kicking into gear but it was still a slog to drag her fatigued body to the bathroom. She stared at her wardrobe, her mind screaming to just put clothes on and get to Josh, but her arms refusing to cooperate. </p><p>An hour after Leo called her, Donna was back in the accursed waiting room, sitting tensely on a chair waiting for news. Leo paced the room, his face looking lined and worn. His phone rang, startling Donna.<br/>
“Yeah? Yeah. Okay. Tell the watch guy to be ready to brief me in half an hour, I’m coming back in.” Leo paused listening to the other end of the phone call. “After you brief me, I’ll let you know when we need to get the President, I don’t want to pull him out of bed until we have to… No I’m at the hospital. Okay thanks.” Leo slid his phone back into his pocket.<br/>
“Donna, I have to go back to the office, you call me as soon as Josh is out okay?”<br/>
“Yes of course, of course.”<br/>
“Right. Okay. Okay.” Leo left the room. Donna was struck with how insane her life had become. The chief of staff had called her home phone to let her know her boss was in surgery. How did he even have her number? She assumed he had called Margarete but then he himself had felt it was necessary to call her. That was really not a good sign for how well she had hidden the… whatever it was between her and Josh. If the big boss knew that could not be good for her career. This was all too much; it wasn’t like this when she was in Wisconsin. </p><p>It was six in the morning by the time a nurse fetched her and led her back to Josh’s room to meet the orderlies as they pushed Josh into the room. The nurse fussed about him, checking his IV and hooking up the monitor. Donna was glad to see him again, he looked much the same except for the fresh bandages covering his chest.<br/>
“Hey Josh. I’m glad you’re back.”<br/>
“We have to stop meeting like this” Josh croaked. Donna chuckled.<br/>
“Well then you need to stop having near death experiences, it’s not good for you.”<br/>
“I wouldn’t say that was a near death experience. Anyway it’s not my fault, I didn’t choose to explode a rib or whatever.”<br/>
“Okay well I don’t think you exploded a rib, stop being a drama queen.”<br/>
“Hey, you’re the one saying I was on my death bed, if anything you’re the drama queen.”<br/>
“Oh sure Josh, I’m the dramatic one here.”<br/>
“Leo was here earlier. Did he leave or…”<br/>
“He got called back into the office, but he’ll want to know you’re awake, I’ll go give him a call.”<br/>
“Call him later. We were talking before, you know… He said that uh…” Josh trailed off.<br/>
“Josh?” Donna prompted after a minute of silence.<br/>
“Oh no, nothing, never mind. Go call him, tell him you know, I’m here, I’m okay.”<br/>
“Okay, I’ll just be down the hall.” Donna checked the time. “I think those young doctors will be back for rounds in a bit, you might want to pretend to be asleep when they’re here.”<br/>
Josh grimaced and settled into his pillows, closing his eyes, and making exaggerated snoring noises. </p><p>Donna called Margaret, who told her Leo was in the Situation Room. “Also, Donna have you checked if he has feeling in his toes and fingers?”<br/>
“Um. What?”<br/>
“Have you checked if Josh has feeling in his toes and fingers?”<br/>
“No?”<br/>
“I’ve heard that you can have spinal damage and not notice, he might be paralysed and nobody knows yet.”<br/>
“I saw him move his hands yesterday, I think his spine is fine.”<br/>
“Okay, just looking out for him.”<br/>
“Yeah thanks Margaret, that’s helpful.”<br/>
“I’ll take a note to Leo now, let him know.”<br/>
Donna got off the phone, as always slightly perturbed by the conversation with Margaret. She was a good friend but she definitely had an odd conversational style.<br/>
Donna checked back on Josh, and found his fake sleeping had turned into real sleep, his breathing even and face relaxed. Donna smirked, and decided to use the opportunity to update the rest of the staff and Josh’s mum. Donna watched the herd of doctors shuffle in and out of Josh’s room while on the phone with his mum, hoping Josh was okay facing their scrutiny. She was chatting to Carol, waiting for CJ to finish a follow up with Kris, when an unfamiliar doctor went into Josh’s room. </p><p> </p><p>Josh was trying to go back to sleep after being woken up by rounds when another doctor entered the room. He introduced himself as a respiratory specialist and adjusted Josh’s bed so he was sitting upright.<br/>
“Basically I need to teach you how to breathe correctly so you don’t damage your lung while its recovering, and so you have a better chance of getting back to normal quickly. So we’ll do some exercises, then I’ll do a spirometry test so we know where you are. You’ll do the exercises once a day and I’ll check back on you every few days to make sure you’re progressing. Are you in pain?”<br/>
Josh paused before answering. “I mean I was shot a few days ago, and I’ve had quite a bit of surgery… so I’m not at my best.”<br/>
“I understand, can you rank your pain on a 1 to 10 scale?”<br/>
“6, I guess.”<br/>
“Okay, and how is your breathing, do you have any chest tightness, feel breathless or like your breathing slower or faster than usual?”<br/>
“There’s some tightness, and some breathlessness.”<br/>
“Okay first exercise, put a hand on your stomach and one on your upper chest, over the bandage is fine. Then breathe in as deeply as you can through your nose, then hold for three seconds, and out through your mouth.”<br/>
Josh was very uncomfortable putting his hand on the bandage, so hedged and kept it hovering above. He also did not enjoy this man listening to him breathe loudly. The sound and pain of breathing deeply was also not enjoyable.<br/>
The respiratory therapist pushed Josh’s shoulders forward, and undid his gown. He placed his cold stethoscope on Josh’s bare back and listened to Josh’s lungs as he continued to breathe deeply and uncomfortably.<br/>
“Hmm that really doesn’t sound good.”<br/>
Josh wanted to punch him. Of course it didn’t sound good, his lung only reinflated twelve hours ago.<br/>
“Okay if you need to cough, you need to bend your knees, and stick your head forward. Put this pillow between your chest and knees and cough with an open mouth. Make sounds like ha ha ha as you cough. It’s okay if its wet and painful, but if there’s blood page your doctor.” Josh thought grumpily that it’s okay for this man if coughing is painful, he wasn’t the one who was going to have to cough ‘wet’ all over the place whilst laughing.<br/>
“The next one, breathe in through your nose, then breathe out through pursed lips. Do this if you are feeling short of breath. Okay any questions, nope, onto the test.” He walked out of the room, and Josh noticed that Donna had slipped in while he was doing his stupid painful exercises.<br/>
“You look murderous. Do you not like him?” Donna asked with a smile on her face.<br/>
“He was surprised that it hurts to breathe because I’m supposed to recover from being shot after a day. Also apparently I haven’t been breathing right my whole life. I mean I think it’s a scam, I haven’t asphyxiated yet so clearly it gets the job done.” His rant was somewhat undermined by how laboured his breathing was.<br/>
“Well, if you improve enough you won’t ever have to see him again. So that’s your motivation to practise your exercises.”<br/>
“Great, because living isn’t enough motivation.”<br/>
“Don’t snap at me, I’m helping you. But if you want to stay in hospital with that guy forever feel free to not practise.”<br/>
The respiratory therapist returned with a spirometer, and attached a clip to Josh’s nose. Josh instantly felt panicky at the feeling of losing air flow.<br/>
“Okay take a deep breathe then blow into this as hard as you can.” Josh breathed into the machine, instantly feeling lightheaded and dizzy. Tears leaked from his eyes and snot accumulated under the nose clip. “Oh very poor, hm, lots of work to be done. Okay two more big blows.” When he finally removed the mask and clip Josh fell back feeling like he had run a marathon. His lungs burned, he had a pounding headache and he was sweating.<br/>
“Okay, cheerio, see you in a few days, do your exercises.”<br/>
Josh sat back as far as he could against the upright bed head and tried to catch his breath. A cool cloth was clearing his face as his vision came back into focus. Donna handed him a cup of water which he gladly drank. He hated that she had seen him struggling so pathetically, but was also so grateful she was there to tidy him back up.<br/>
“That looked really painful. Good job for getting through it. Also, I don’t like him either.”<br/>
Josh grimaced and tried to smooth it into a smile.<br/>
“Why don’t you rest, I’ll read some more of the clippings, I’m sure I saw one in there that mentioned your brilliant Illinois strategy that got him the nom.”<br/>
Josh settled back into his pillows and closed his eyes to listen to Donna relaying the praises of the Connecticut Post. Donna and Josh passed the day with banter, light bickering, check ins from nurses, and occasional naps.</p><p> </p><p>Josh was woken from one his short naps by the sound of Donna’s laugh. He opened his eyes to find CJ and Donna cackling.<br/>
“It’s never good news for me when you two are whispering and laughing.” He aimed for charming in tone but hit grumpy old man awoken from nap.<br/>
“’ua! Good to see you’ve retained your winning personality and natural charm.”<br/>
“’Ua?”<br/>
“I’m trying out something new, shorting names from the back. I’m whimsical”<br/>
“’k… Jean…”<br/>
CJ gave him a look, “anyway, I come bearing Starbucks and well wishes from the press and my staff.”<br/>
“I want coffee, I haven’t had coffee in days.”<br/>
“Tough, no coffee for you until the doctors clear it.” Donna declared firmly.<br/>
“But Dooonnnaaa, this is why I keep falling asleep, not enough caffeine.”<br/>
“You’ll just have to use your natural sources of energy to stay awake.”<br/>
“Maybe if your conversations were more interesting I’d be able to stay awake through your stories about Bobby and the birds in the field.”<br/>
“The fact that you remember my uncle Bobby proves you were paying attention to my story.”<br/>
“She’s got you there boo boo.” CJ interjected.<br/>
“Whatever, what’s happening at the White House?”<br/>
“I’m not telling you anything, I can’t have your body shut down while I’m here, it would be very traumatic for me” CJ smiled.<br/>
“What are you even talking about, tell me what’s been going on.”<br/>
“She’s right, you have to think about healing, so no White House until your healthy enough to cope with it.”<br/>
“Ugh the women are conspiring against me” Josh angrily said to the ceiling as he slumped.<br/>
“That must be very hard for you. You tell me, what have you been up to? Anything interesting?”<br/>
“CJ you know I’ve been in this hospital bed this whole time. People come in they take my blood pressure they go out, I go to sleep I wake up, my life is a never ending revolving door of people coming in and out of my room. I’ve literally never been so bored.”<br/>
“Do you have anything to read?” CJ asked looking around the room for signs of occupation.<br/>
“No, and do you know nobody’s offered me anything this whole time.”<br/>
“Well I can see if I can bring some books for you tomorrow, what do you want?”<br/>
“Thank you CJ, it’s such a relief that somebody is worried about my brain atrophying.” Josh said with a look at Donna.<br/>
“I’ll ask around the office for recommendation, I’m sure we’ll find something for you.”<br/>
CJ stayed for an hour, chatting to Donna and Josh, then left to get dinner and go home. As she went out the door Donna quietly asked that any books she bring not be anything that would agitate Josh, and mentioned his new interest in astrophysics. Josh pretended not to hear her agree not to get anything too political, offended but also somewhat glad he wouldn’t be reading about other people doing the job he desperately wanted to get back to.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I may put the Leo conversation insert in a future chapter, I just really wanted to open this one with Donna not being able to have nice things like sleep and relaxation.</p><p>The interaction with the respiratory specialist is very much drawn from my life and is the reason I do not see male doctors if I can avoid it. </p><p>Also its so hard for me not to write the characters as strayan, I had to stop and think for so long to remember what americans call journos... i tried my best so pls forgive australianisms that i missed.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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